


Quintessenal Shock

by DayLightDove



Series: Quintessence Sensitive Keith [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Discoveries, Friendship, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Humor, I think I do that unconsciously, Made up phenomenons, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Quintessence Sensitive Keith, Somewhere in season 1 or 2 probably, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 07:20:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17320505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DayLightDove/pseuds/DayLightDove
Summary: Due to a sudden phenomenon hitting the ship, Allura, Coran, and the paladins discover that one of their teammates may be sensitive to quintessence.





	Quintessenal Shock

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so this is my first Voltron fic. I hope I did ok.
> 
> So this is written because I am one of those people who love the idea of Keith sensing quintessence (as well as him being galra but that isn't the focus of this fic) and I wish there had been more of it in the show. Oh well.
> 
> I don't own VLD.
> 
> Onto the oneshot!

With a harsh clang ringing through the air, Keith blocked another one of the gladiator's attacks with his bayard, quickly pulling away and getting ready to strike back in a span of a second. However, just as he was getting ready to swing at the robot, an odd feeling raced down his spine.

Jumping out of range of the gladiator, he called out, "End training sequence!"

As the gladiator shut down, Keith let his bayard fade away and went to reach for his communication device on his belt only to free with a gasp. A strong ripple of energy suddenly raced up his spine, so sharp and sudden it caused black dots to dance within his sight. For a quick second, he felt as though he got a sudden adrenaline rush, more than what was already going through him from his training, only for it to get ripped away from him violently.

Another gasp left his lips before he was falling forward, his arms templing beneath his weight as he tried to catch himself. His eyes blinked rapidly, as he fought against a sudden feeling of tiredness flowing through him. However, the wave quickly overcame his struggles and Keith fell to the floor and black dragged him into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Coran!"

Said advisor turned towards the Princess as her shout reached him from his place on the bridge. Turning away from his controls as quickly as he could, he looked at Allura.

"What is it, Princess?!"

Allura looked down at him, surprise decorating her face. "It's a shock!"

"A shock?" Coran questioned, trying to figure out what she meant before understanding came upon him. "Oh you mean a-" He cut off, a surprised noise coming from his throat as he felt his body suddenly get flooded with a rush of energy. He watched as the lights of the castle seemed to brighten at the same time, as well was Allura letting out a similar noise as him. Upon both Alteans, their markings on their cheeks lit up, Allura's seemingly brighter than Coran's, as the wave of energy traveled through them.

However, just as quickly as the rush had come, it was gone. A wave of tiredness came over both of the Alteans, as though they had not slept at all last night. However, between the two, Allura felt it much more strongly and in a few seconds her eyes were closing and she was falling towards the ground. Coran, having expected no less, was ready to catch her despite his own weariness.

"Ah," Coran sighed, shifting Allura into a more comfortable position before lifting her into his arms. "It's been a while since I've experienced one of those. Why, I'd even say it was a nice, nostalgic surprise if you ask me."

Beeping from the bridge's comms caught his attention and Coran laughed a bit embarrassedly. "Oh, right. I suppose the Paladins might be a bit thrown off by this." Moving forward, Allura perfectly balanced in one of his arms, as her weight was nothing to his Altean strength despite his own weariness, he pressed the button for the intercom system for the castle.

"Ah, sorry about that Paladins!" He called through it, a laugh covering his first few words. "I supposed none of you know exactly what that was. If you could all come to the lounge, I will happily explain what just happened!" With that, he let go of the button and shifted so that Allura was cradled in both of his arms before heading to the lounge.

As he had taken his own time in getting there, Coran was greeted with the Paladins either already within the lounge or just entering through another set of doors as he entered. He could see the tired way their bodies slouched and the way a few of them swayed on their feet. Ah, Coran could remember his first shock, and it's always such a surprise to see the things the current Paladin's have yet to experience.

Each of their eyes widened as he entered, worry crossing their faces immediately when they caught sight of Allura, unconscious in his arms, as he began to lower her onto one of the couches.

"Coran! What happened to Allura!?"

"Is she alright?"

"What, exactly, was that?!"

"Why do I feel so tired!?"

"I feel the same way! Coran?!"

"Calm down everyone!" Shiro shouted over the other's worried voices, his hands raised as is he was trying to physically calm everyone down. "Let him talk. We won't get any answers if we don't let him speak." He spoke this with a calming smile on his face before he turned to face Coran directly. "Coran, can you please tell us what just happened?"

"Of course, number one!" Coran said, puffing his chest out a bit. "Though, perhaps you would all like to sit down. I can without even looking that you're all feeling a bit tired." He waited for them all to sit down, himself included, before continuing. "Good! Now, what you all just experienced was a quintessenal shock."

"A quint-what now?" Lance asked, raising an eyebrow at the words.

"A quintessenal shock." Coran repeated. "Basically, since quintessence is a source of energy, that energy can build up under certain situations, and gets released through a wave like the one we just experienced causing a bit of shock. They were quite frequent on Altea, what with Alteans being particularly sensitive to quintessence and all the magic that came with it, so build ups happened a lot!"

"Ok, but that doesn't explain why we all feel tired and why Allura is currently passed out on the couch." Pidge spoke up, eyes sparking with the desire to find out more about the phenomenon.

"Is she ok, by the way?" Hunk asked, the worry never having left his face and his eyes flickered between Coran and Allura worriedly.

"Yeah, I mean, the rest of us didn't pass out." Lance said. "Was it a curse? Does she need true love's kiss to wake her up." He fluttered his eyes as he leaned on his arm.

"Lance." Shiro spoke up, disapprovingly.

"What?!"

"No, no," Coran broke in with a wave of his hand. "Nothing of the sort. See, a quintessenal shock tends to send waves of quintessence through whatever the shock hits. Depending on the strength of the shock, then the outcome is a little different each time. I'd say we were hit with about a mid range wave, so the shock it powerful enough to flood a lot of quintessence into us, but it's quick enough for the wave to leave us just as quickly as it came."

"So, it was like a sudden adrenaline rush, or something similar." Pidge spoke up. "Like, you're suddenly filled with a lot of energy, making you feel like you can do anything, and when its gone you're suddenly very tired. Only, this happened almost instantly instead of over a short period of time."

"That sounds about right." Coran hummed, hand cupping his chin in thought.

"Ok, but why is Allura, passed out?" Lance asked again.

"Oh, right! You see, since Allura can manipulate quintessence and feel it a lot more than we can, she feels the after effects of a quintessenal shock a bit more strongly than we do. Actually, those who can sense quintessence can usually sense a shock coming a few ticks before it hits. It was the same with all Alteans who were more sensitive to quintessence than your average person, really. So don't worry, the Princess will be fine in a few dobashes at least, a varga at most. It's not her first one after all. Besides, we got off lucky! This would have been a lot worse if it had been a high range shock!"

"High range, mid range," Pidge mumbled, keeping track of the words. "These are some of the levels, right?"

"Correct!" Coran beamed at the green paladin. "There's low range, mid-range and high range! There may be a few I'm forgetting, and of course you have the intermediate ranges but those three are the basic ranges of a quintessenal shock! Low ranges usually pass by without much notice since they really don't do much in terms of energy. However, mid ranges and high ranges are where you have to be careful! We were lucky it was just a mid range for your first one! This is because it only causes a sudden wave of tiredness that can be easily dealt with what with some rest and relaxation!"

"That I can do!" The blue paladin said happily, already leaning back into the couch he was sitting on.

"Uh, you said a high range? Is that worse or something, because I would like to know what we should expect if that ever happens?" Hunk spoke up. "I mean, I don't know about you guys, but if we were lucky with a mid range shock, then what does a high range shock do? Like is there a chance of death or injury? DO we need to look out for anything in particular?! Oh, no does it break the ship! Or-"

"Hunk!" Shiro cut in, making the other pause. "Calm down and just let Coran talk."

"Right, sorry." Hunk laughed embarrassedly.

"No worries, number two." Coran wave his hand dismissively. "See, a high range just sends out enough quintessence to actually energize a person for a while, however the downside is that the person then completely crashes for the follow vargas! It can be so bad, especially for those who are sensitive to quintessence, that you could be out for a whole quintant! Nothing will rouse you, and if you are woken up, you're practically dead on your feet! Ah, but besides that, there's really nothing to worry about."

"Thank goodness."

"Of course, if you ever got hit repeatedly with quintessenal shocks or didn't have anything between you and the wave you could get seriously hurt or even killed." Coran mussed, suddenly thinking about if the Castle Ship hadn't been a buffer between the initial wave and the people on board. "Now that I'm thinking about it, being hit directly with a shock could cause some serious damage! In fact-"

"That's enough Coran!" Shiro broke in, once again playing peacekeeper. From the looks on his fellow paladin's faces, they were probably a bit thankful that he stopped the advisor from going on. "I think we know everything we need to know for now. I think, now we should just focus on resting.

"Yes, I suppose that would be for the best." Coran agreed, nodding his head sharply at the same time.

"Ha! I bet this is going to be hard for you, huh, Mullet?" Lance taunted, a smirk on his face as he turned his head to where he thought the red paladin was. Finding the spot empty, he quickly glanced around the room, finding that Keith was nowhere to be seen. "Uh, hey guys? Where's Keith?"

"Huh?!" Everyone jolted, suddenly noticing that the red paladin was nowhere in the room.

"Did he already leave or something?" Pidge asked.

"I don't think he was here to begin with." Hunk replied. "Did he get stuck here? I mean, clearly the shock influenced the castle, right? So, did he get trapped wherever he was?"

"No, that shouldn't happen." Coran said, shaking his head. "You all made it here alright, and Altean ships are made in a way that allows them to deal with quintessenal shocks quite well. There should be no problems with it."

"So, he basically didn't think this was of any importance then." Lance huffed, crossing his arms.

"No," Pidge said. "Keith isn't like that. I mean, sure, he doesn't seem to be up for team bonding or anything, but something that caused a disturbance like this would have his running here. I mean, you've seen how he's always ready for action."

"Pidge is right, Lance." Shiro said. "If I know Keith, he most likely would have already been here, if not seeking out the problem the minute he noticed something was off. Something had to have happened for him not to be here."

"Yeah, but what? Nothing happened besides the shock."

"Hey, guys." The yellow paladin spoke up. "Um, he's usually training right? So, if the shock hit while he was training and it disrupted the fight or something, he might have gotten hurt? Could that happen?" He turned to Coran with his last question.

"I...suppose." Coran said hesitantly, a furrow in his brow. "But the training room it designed to keep the one training safe and would shut down if the trainee was in danger."

"Unless it's corrupted or something." Lance said. "Like with the galra crystal."

"Yes, but a quintessenal shock doesn't corrupt."

"Standing around and debating isn't going to help Keith." Shiro spoke up, shooting all of them a look. "Coran, will Allura be ok if we left her here?"

"Yes, she should be fine. As I said, this isn't her first shock."

"Right," Shiro replied, nodding. "Ok, Pidge and Lance check the Red Lion's hanger to see if Keith is there. If he's not, then check his room. Hunk and Coran, you're with me and we'll go see if he's on the training deck. If he's not there, we'll go from there. Contact the other group the second you catch any sign of him. If we can, we'll meet back here. Understood?"

Everyone voiced their own way of showing they understood before they took off to their designated places.

* * *

As Hunk, Shiro, and Coran approached the training deck, they could tell something was off. In one of the corners of the room, they found Keith's jacket laying on the ground and it wasn't long after that that they found the red paladin himself face down on the ground.

"Keith!" Shiro cried, rushing forward with Hunk and Coran on his heels. He pulled Keith in to his arms and found that there seemed to be no wounds upon his body that could have lead to his unconscious state. He could hear Hunk calling Pidge and Lance over the comms and Coran pulling out a portable scanner to look over Keith incase there were any injuries that Shiro couldn't see. The only think that Shiro could really see was the way Keith's facial expression appeared similar to that of Allura's, as if he was just in a deep sleep.

"Coran, can you find anything wrong with him?" Shiro asked, looking up at the Altean as he pulled Keith closer to his body.

"Nothing." Coran hummed. "He has no injuries that could have led to his current state."

"But then why…" Shiro trailed off with a shake of his head and a sigh passing his lips.

Coran let out another hum. "I have two ideas, but I suppose that you will all want to hear them, so let's get back to the lounge then. Number four will be alright to move. Do you need any help carrying him or…"

Shiro shook his head, already bringing his arms under Keith's knees and back. "I've got him. Hunk?"

"Already telling them!" Hunk replied, his eyes flickering to Keith. "So, is he going to be ok?"

"He should be!" Coran said. "Both conclusions I've come up with should mean that number four should be perfectly ok after a bit of rest! Of course, only one of them is for certain since I don't really know how human bodies work, but if my thoughts are right than neither should really matter."

"Oh, well, that's good?" Hunk said nervously as he followed after Coran and Shiro as they made their way back to the lounge. They met with Pidge and Lance on the way, each looking at Keith worriedly but neither knowing what to say.

Inside the lounge found Allura still asleep on one of the couches. Shiro laid Keith down onto one of the other couches before stepping back at looking at Coran, who was once again looking over Keith.

"So, what do you think is up with, Mullet?" They could see Lance was trying to remain calm in the situation, but despite the nickname they could hear the underlying worry.

"Well," Coran began, taking a step back from the red paladin. "I have two ideas. The first is that he's unconscious due to the fact that he was training before hand and no doubt already had this adrenaline running through his body, so the extra spike and sudden loss could have caused him to pass out from exhaustion. However, I've seen others train before a quintessenal shock before and I don't recall them passing out." He tilted his head. "Of course, you're human bodies could be a bit different, but from what I've been able to tell is that quintessenal shocks have the same effects on all species and races."

"You said you had two ideas." Shiro spoke up. "What's the other one?"

"..." Coran was silent for a few seconds before taking a deep breath. "Well, the only other option, which seems just as out there as the previous one, is that our red paladin here is somewhat sensitive to quintessence."

Silence fell on the paladins and the Altean. Each of the human's eyes fell upon their unconscious teammate, trying to process what was just suggested. Keith being able to sense quintessence just as Allura does, being able to feel that magical source that they seemed to only be able to feel from their lions.

"So you're saying...Mullet might be able to do magic or something?" Lance spoke up, trying to break the silence. "No wonder he lived in the desert like a cryptid."

"The desert!" Pidge suddenly gasped looking at the other paladins. "Do you remember when we met him after saving Shiro? He said he could feel something pulling him in the desert, telling him to search! And that it was probably Blue! What if that's a sign he can feel quintessence?!"

"You mean he's been able to feel quintessence all this time?" Coran asked with shock. "Without any training?"

"Shiro?" Hunk asked. "I mean, you've known him the longest."

"I can't say." Shiro sighed. "I mean, Keith wasn't always the most open about what he felt." He looked to Coran. "Is it bad if he can sense quintessence?"

"Well, no, but it would be good to know, especially since it could either come in handy or be a hindrance depending on the situation." Coran replied. "If he can actually sense quintessence, then I'd say he has some potential if he was already sensing the lion's before any actual contact with them. Of course, I can't say for certain since we would need Allura to check if he can actual feel quintessence. She's be able to know what to look for. Until then, we'll just have to wait."

They each looked down at Keith, each having some kind of worry and curiosity on their face. They wanted to know what was wrong, but they couldn't do anything but wait until Allura was awake.

So they waited. They each took their own places in the lounge, trying to relax and shake off the aftereffects of the quintessenal shock. Coran made sure there were no different effects on humans, and it seemed that there were none for the remaining four paladins. Lance and Pidge were able to drift off into a light doze but Shiro and Hunk couldn't help but worry about their fellow teammates. Shiro remained as close to his adoptive brother as he could, prepared to act in case something were to suddenly occur with the younger male.

Finally after what felt like forever, Allura stirred. She slowly pushed herself up with a yawn as she shook off the sleep still clinging to her. Her eyes fluttered open and she cast her sleepy gaze around the room.

"Where-?"

"Ah! Princess, you're awake!" Coran exclaimed, loud enough to spook both Pidge and Lance from their dozing.

"Coran, what happened?" She muttered, trying to grasp her bearings before gasping. "Oh! That's right, there was the shock! Is everyone alright?" She looked around her blue eyes falling upon each of the paladins.

"Ah, the paladins are a bit shaken since this was their first shock and all, but otherwise we're all alright. It was just a mid range shock after all." Coran replied with a smile only for it to drop when he turned to look at Keith, still asleep on the couch. "Well, and then there's number four."

"Keith?" Allura questioned, her eyebrows furrowing at the mention of the paladin. "What's wrong? Did something happen to him during the shock?"

"Well, yes and no." Coran replied. "See, he's not hurt but he is unconscious, similarly to how you were, Princess."

"I see. Is it a human reaction then?"

"No, we actually think that number four may have a sensitivity to quintessence."

"What?" Allura stared in shock at her fellow Altean. Her eyes then quickly flickered to the red paladin, her eyes tracing over his body. "Besides his unconsciousness, what brought you to this conclusion."

"He could sense Blue before he knew about her." Pidge spoke up and brought Allura's attention to them. "When we were on Earth, Keith mentioned something calling him to the desert and it brought him directly to Blue."

"Well, in the area. If you forget, I got us to Blue." Lance huffed making Pidge roll their eyes.

"The point is," They continued. "Is that Keith knew about the lion before we actually came across her. In fact, he had the area pinned down before I picked up the frequency on a machine built for things like that."

"I see." Allura hummed before sighing. "Unless there is significant evidence that Keith can sense quintessence, I could try to do an old Altean test that was used to see who could manipulate and sense quintessence in those suspected to be able to do so, but I'm afraid Keith will have to be awake for that."

"Seriously?" Lance groaned. "More waiting?!"

Shiro rolled his eyes at Lance's antics before he spoke. "When do you think that will be?"

"Well, seeing as this was also his first shock just as it was for the rest of you, I'd say give him a few more vargas." Coran hummed. "Recovering after the first shock can always be a bit harder for those with quintessence sensitivity. After all, you saw that with Allura."

"Well, then I think I'll go make us something to eat then!" Hunk spoke up. "It's nearly time for dinner and since this is a day of relaxation, then I think we should have a nice, warm dinner to go with that."

"Yeah, I'll come with you buddy!" Lance said. "That way we can make sure its just perfect for relaxing! After all, I'm a master at it!" He got a laugh out of Hunk as the two disappeared through the doorway.

Pidge stretched their arms upwards with a groan. "Ah, I guess I'll go get my laptop. I've gotten enough sleep to at least be able to function through that."

"You're supposed to be relaxing." Shiro huffed with a smile on his face.

"That is relaxing, for me at least." Pidge replied. "Besides, I've got to make sure this shock thing didn't mess up my computer! Don't worry, I'll be back soon." With that, they were gone as well.

"And you, Shiro?" Coran asked.

Shiro shrugged. "I'll probably just stay here. We could just talk, have a nice conversation until dinner's ready at least." He tried to brush off his worry, but Coran and Allura could tell with the glance he threw to Keith that this was a bit more than just wanting to chat.

Allura smiled. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Shiro! Besides, I doubt I could move from this spot right now. I need to rest just a bit more before I'm ready to go."

Shiro let out a soft laugh at that and soon the three struck up a conversation to pass the time.

* * *

Keith groaned as he fought to open his eyes. His head felt heavy and he was struggling to remember what had happened. He remembered training only to suddenly feel off, like something was coming. Following that he only knew was a force shooting through his body and a fight to stay away before he was met with black.

"...Keith?" A voice called to him as he struggled to sit up and open his eyes. He knew that voice-Shiro, his mind supplied-and felt arms fall upon his own, helping him sit up. "Keith, are you awake?"

"...Sh'ro?" Keith mumbled as he was finally able to force his eyes open. He let out another groan before speaking. "Wha-?"

"You're just waking up after the quintessenal shock is all, don't worry." Shiro replied giving the other a smile. He could see the confusion in Keith's purple eyes at the words, understandable since he hadn't been present, let alone conscious during all of this.

"Quintessenal...what?" Keith questioned, furrowing his eyebrows. He tried to understand what Shiro just said before he remembered how he wanted to tell the other's about what he felt in the training room and shot up into a seated position, completely ignoring how he swayed in his spot. "Shiro! Something's coming or is happening...I don't really know, I just know that something was off and I was going to tell you guys but then something happened and I couldn't-"

"Keith, Keith calm down, ok?" Shiro held his hands up, hoping to calm the other down. "We know what happened, it was as I said, a quintessenal shock. Everyone is ok."

"What's a quintessenal shock?" Keith asked, still very confused over what had happened. Shiro then proceeded to recite to Keith what he had missed and everything Coran had told him and the other paladins, seeing as Coran and Allura had left the room a little while before Keith had woken up. Shiro could see Keith keeping track of all that he said, his purple eyes focused and his head nodding along when it is needed. However, when Shiro finished, he could see that Keith was still confused.

"So, I was the only one who got knocked out?" Keith asked.

"Well," Shiro began. "I mean, Allura also did-"

"But I was the only one of us who got knocked out." Keith reaffirmed, the 'us' referring to the all of the humans on board who all experienced their first quintessencal shock.

"Yes, that's right."

"But why-?"

"Keith listen-."

Both Shiro and Keith cut off when one of the doors opened to the lounge, making them turn to look at who entered. In the doorway stood Hunk, his eyes looking between the two of them before his eyes lit when he processed Keith was awake.

"Keith, buddy, you're awake!" Hunk cried, rushing forwards to give Keith a quick hug. Keith froze at the contact, but before he could process the hug, it was over and he was looking up at a smiling Hunk. "Oh man, we were worried a bit there, but you're awake so everything is ok now! And just in time for dinner too!" He looked at Shiro. "That's what I came to tell you, by the way. Dinner's ready!"

"Uh, thanks...Hunk." Keith said awkwardly, not really knowing what he should be saying in this situation.

"Yes, thank you, Hunk." Shiro said much more easily, smiling at the yellow paladin. "We'll be there in a few seconds."

"Right, ok!" Hunk replied, stepping away. "You're welcome by the way, and...uh...see you in a bit!" With that the yellow paladin was gone.

"...Shiro-" Keith started, looking back that he black paladin, wanting to continue the conversation from before Hunk walked in.

"Look, Keith, I know you want to know what happened, but I think it would be better if Allura and Coran were there as well. That way, we can understand everything without being confused and Allura or Coran could answer any questions you have that I wasn't able to answer."

Keith bit his lip, thinking about how this could go down, but figured he wanted to understand everything as best as he could. With a sigh, Keith nodded his head. "Alright."

"Great!" Shiro exclaimed, smile sitting brightly on his face before motioning his head towards the door. "Come on, let's go eat dinner."

As the two entered the dining area, they were greeted with smiles and waves from the other paladins.

"Hey Sleeping Beauty!" Lance called to Keith, getting the other to look at him. "Did you have a lovely nap?"

"Shut up, Lance." Keith sighed, not really in the mood for the other's teasing.

"Hey, looking man, we were all actually pretty worried about you, ok?" Lance continued. "Only, according to Allura and Coran, you would be fine since all it turned out to be was that you might have some weird sensibility thing or something."

"What?" Keith asked, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to make sense of what Lance said. However, before he could question the other, Allura and Coran joined the paladins at the table and greeted Keith with warm smiles.

"Number four!" Coran called out with a bright smile. "It's good to see you awake! I was starting to get worried with how long it had been, but seeing you awake right now is good!"

"Yes, we are all very glad you're awake, Keith!" Allura exclaimed with a happy clap of her hands and a smile aimed at him before the Alteans took their own seats at the table.

"Er...thanks...I guess." Keith mumbled, his eyes darting quickly to the floor from the relief coming from the other two.

"Aww, Mullet's embarrassed!" Lance teased, receiving a glare from the other.

Keith was about to respond with his own shot but he was once again cut off by one of the other's at the table, in this case it was Hunk.

The yellow paladin raising his hands as he tried to keep the other two from going at it. "Ok, it get you guys like to have your banters, but how about you eat before you strangle each other."

"That's fine with me, buddy!" Lance cheerfully replied. "I can do that just fine! Not sure about Mullet, though!"

"Well, clearly I'm already doing better than you." Keith replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Please, you're bound to get heated up about something." Lance huffed. "It's, like, what you're known for!"

"You mean how you're known for your non-stop, mindless chatter? Because, right now, only one can be proven as true."

"Who are you calling mindless!?"

"Um, you clearly, but you can't seem to grasp that."

"Guys!" Shiro broke in, making the two give each other a quick glare before turning back to their food. Seeing this, Shiro let out a sigh with a shake of his head before digging into his own goo. They continue to eat with easy going conversations but it wasn't long before they needed to breach the subject that had been hanging over everyone since Keith woke up.

"Keith," Allura began as she turned to look at the red paladin. "Can I ask you something?"

"I mean, I guess?" Keith replied, his body tensing and his eyes watching her suspiciously.

"It's nothing bad, I can assure you." Allura said, noticing the way he tensed up but not questioning it as it was something their red paladin does a lot. "Just, before the quintessenal shock hit, did you sense anything was off?"

Keith furrowed his eyebrows. "...I...yeah, I did. Like, something was off or like...I don't know its hard to explain. Like...there was just something...powerful in the air, if that makes sense. Why?"

"I'll answer that in a bit, however I need to ask you if you've felt anything like that before or at least anything similar to it."

Keith shifted awkwardly in his seat, his eyes flickering nervously away for a minute and his hands clenching before unclenching. "Why?"

"Again, it's nothing bad, trust me." At her words, Keith look quickly at her before his eyes turned to glance over every other person at the table. When his eyes met Shiro's, the black paladin smile reassuringly, giving Keith the courage to speak.

Licking his lips, he spoke. "I mean...back on Earth...I felt a similar thing when I was in the desert and unknowingly following that feeling to the Blue lion. And...and I felt it again when I had to find Red on Sendak's ship, but I only found Red when I focused on finding her since it seemed like...there were...multiple?...types of the feeling or something." Keith shook his head before looking Allura dead in the eye. "What is this about? Why are you asking about this?"

"You see," Allura began. "We believe you may have a sensitivity to quintessence, similar to how I can sense and manipulate quintessence. And, from what you've told me, it seems like you really might be able to."

Keith stared at her, eyes filled with disbelief and confusion. He looked around at all the other paladins and saw the same certainty in their eyes. "Really? How...how do you know for sure?"

"Well," Allura shuffled a bit in her seat at this. "We don't know for sure, at least right now that is. From what you told me, I would say you have some kind of quintessence sensibility, but to know for sure would require you to go through a sort of...test."

"What kind of test?"

"It's not bad, or long, really." Allura quickly said. "It's merely to show me, as well as everyone else, that you can sense quintessence as well as how well you can sense it."

"Ok… so what's in it?"

"Well, I'll be looking to see if you can sense it and from there I'll figure out how well you can sense it. Going from there, it's up to you if you'd like to receive training or not."

"That's it?" Keith asked, surprised at how simple it sounded. He expected there to be more to this test Allura mentioned.

Allura nodded. "Yes. It's not hard to figure out if you can sense quintessence if you go about it the right way. From there, you can figure that out and conduct training from there. Of course, it's up to you if you want to take the test or not."

Keith shrugged. "I mean it can't hurt, right? Might as well know all of our strengths."

"Of course you connect this with something relating to fighting." Lance sighed. "Can't you just be in awe that you might have special powers?"

"Jealous?" Keith shot back.

Lance waved his hand as if brushing off the comment. "Please. First of all, we don't know if this is true yet, and secondly I don't need anything to make me more interesting, Keith. I'm already amazing."

That recieved a snort from Pidge, a roll of the eyes from Keith, and a laugh from Hunk. Shiro just shook his head at the group before looking at Allura and Coran. "When would he do the test?"

"Whenever he likes!" Coran replied. "Allura and I had been getting it set up while you were still sleeping. We kind of figured that you would want to see if this was true or not."

Keith nodded before standing up with his empty plate in hand. "Alright, then let's get this over with."

"Wait, right now?!" Hunk exclaimed. "Like, right now?"

Keith raised an eyebrow. "You don't have to come."

"No! No, I mean that we just finished dinner and you just woke up from getting knocked out from the shock and don't you think you should rest a little more?" Hunk asked.

"Why? I'm rested, the test is ready to go, and you're not the one doing anything." Keith shot back. "Wouldn't it be better to get this over with rather than waiting in suspense?"

"I agree with Keith!" Pidge pipped up, getting everyone to look at them. They shrugged in response. "What? I want to know if he's really a cryptid or not." They saw Keith smirk and they jumped up with an amused laugh. "Ha! I knew you'd be into cryptids!"

"I never said anything."

"Your face says differently!"

Keith responded with a shrug, not denying or confirming anything until Lance pipped up.

"Mothman isn't real."

"Says the man who is currently in space in a spaceship with aliens." Keith defended, but there was a tone of defense in his voice that made Pidge smirk.

"Ha! Thank's Lance!" The two paladins gave each other a high five.

"No problem, pidgeon!"

"What's a Mothman?"

"Don't worry about it." Shiro laughed. "Anyway, getting back on topic, if both Keith and Allura are ok with doing the test now, then they can go right ahead and do it."

"Really?" Keith asked. "I expected you to want me to rest more."

"Oh, I do." Shiro replied with a smirk. "However, I know what you're like and I doubt I can get you to put this off now that you've decided to do it."

That got Keith to give a short laugh in response.

"Alright then." Allura smiled, standing up from her seat as well. "Then let's go and conduct the test."

After cleaning up all of their dishes, the group headed down to the training room, where Allura had prepared the test for Keith to take. As they neared the doors, Allura could feel the small amount of quintessence she had manipulated for the test already, and, with a look at Keith, she could tell from the way he tensed he could already tell something was off. If that wasn't a sign already for her, the fact that his reaction was completely different from the other paladins said something. None of the other paladins seemed to be able to see if something was different from within the training room, which should be true since the amount of quintessence she had manipulated for the test was only a slight amount, basically unnoticeable to those who couldn't sense it.

Entering the training deck, Allura turned to Keith.

"Alright, now if you look forward, you will find three cylinders. Now, I have pushed quintessence into one of these cylinders and you need to identify which one it is. How quickly you do this and how certain you are of your answer will be able to show how you pass this test. If you take too long or if you simply cannot sense anything, then obviously you cannot sense quintessence. Understood."

"Got it."

Allura nodded her head and motioned towards the cylinders. "Whenever you're ready."

Keith took a deep breath as he trained his eyes on the cylinders. He could already tell there was something off, but the glowing of each one threw him off. He knew that only one was giving off the feeling he was getting, yet he could only really narrow it down to two of them, since the feeling was so faint yet at the same time so distinguishable. However, as he narrowed his focus down to the two of them, trying to grasp onto that feeling he was getting, more of the odd waves started appearing from where the others were standing behind him. Of course, they all have quintessence so he would notice there's as well-and, if he was honest, the lions as well from their places in the castle but there's were not as obvious for the time being.

But this isn't the first time he's encountered this. This isn't the first time he's had to single out one of the feelings from so many others. While he didn't have to try so hard with the Blue Lion, as it seemed to have been reaching out on it's own, he remembered when he had to locate the Red Lion on Sendak's ship, how he had to narrow down her wavelength to track her. How, even though he could remember how Blue's had flowed through him, Red's was so similar yet different. How her wavelength-quintessence?-had flowed through him even when she herself didn't exactly reach out right away, yet it felt so right and warm. Even now, he could hear his lion roar in the back of his mind at the thoughts and feel that same warmth flow through him.

So, taking another deep breath and letting out a mumble of "patience yields focus", he searched for that wavelength he felt the moment he reached the doors of the training room. Once he had it pinned down, he let the feeling guide his eyes to the correct cylinder, and he lifted his hand to point at it.

"That one." He said, pointing to the left-most cylinder.

"You're sure?" Allura asked, Coran standing besides her with a timer.

Keith doesn't even move his gaze away from the cylinder as he answers, his voice firm and confident in his answer. "Yes."

For a moment, no one speaks. Keith allows his eyes to move from the cylinder to Allura, the fire in his eyes so bright as if daring Allura to tell him he is wrong. Then, Allura allows a smile to spread across her face and she nods her head.

"You are correct, Keith." She saids, gaining shocked and amazed sounds from the other paladins. "It seems that you are able to sense quintessence! How long did it take him, Coran?"

"Hmmm" Coran hummed, looking at the timer. "30 ticks! Amazing!"

"Seriously?!" Lance exclaimed with a laugh. "Wow, Keith, you're already skilled at this!"

"Not really." Keith mumbled in return.

"Are you kidding? We didn't sense anything!" Lance sent back, throwing an arm around Keith. "And here I thought you were all just instincts and quick actions. Turns out, your those along with having a sixth sense!"

"This is amazing!" Pidge said. "Imagine if we were on a mission and you could do things like this! Like you could locate things just based on their quintessence!"

Hunk took his opportunity to speak as well. "Yeah and imagine if you could get up to Allura's level! Like, what if you can get to manipulate it as well!? We'd have a magic user with us without putting Allura in danger!"

"I can defend myself just fine, Hunk."

"I know! I just meant...I mean...you wouldn't need to worry about leaving the castle or-"

Allura cut him off with a smile. "I know what you meant, Hunk, don't worry."

"R-Right."

"I always told you you were special, you know, beyond your flying abilities." Shiro laughed, making Keith blush a little at his brother's praise.

"Wait, is this why you can fly so well!?" Lance exclaimed, jabbing Keith with a finger. "I knew you were cheating!"

"I don't think that's how this works, Lance." Keith replied.

"You don't know that."

"I'm pretty sure I can just use common sense to figure that out, something you apparently don't have."

"Hey!"

"Keith," Allura broke in, making him look at her and away from his banter with Lance. "Would you like me to teach you what I can about quintessence?"

Keith smirked at her, a fire in his eyes. "Where do I start?"


End file.
